Sam Chang buys $26.5M garage site for hotel

Although he claims he is in the twilight of his career, prolific hotel developer Sam Chang is continuing a string of purchases. Most recently, he paid $26.5 million for a 53,172-square-foot parking garage late last week, in order to build a hotel, he confirmed to The Real Deal.

Chang, who said earlier this month he intends to retire within the next year, bought out the long-term lease on the site at 346 West 40th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues. Peach Parking Corporation held a triple-net lease on the six-story, 250-space garage that would have expired in February 2030.

A family partnership that resides primarily in Florida and Washington, D.C., has owned the site for roughly 25 years, according to Von Der Ahe. Peach pays an extra $25,000 per year to the landlord for structural repairs.

“A lot of people passed on this because they were deterred by the 17 years left on the lease,” Von Der Ahe told The Real Deal. “Sam Chang knew he had the capability to negotiate a buyout.”

Chang said he will either demolish the garage or build a hotel on top of it. The site comes with roughly 100,000 buildable square feet. He said he has not decided yet on an architect to design it.

“I see a good deal and I take it,” Chang told The Real Deal. “The price was right.”